So I just ordered this from hojo as I stated in a previous thread,( I was impressed by swift shipping despite the order delay, but I have never had anything less with ems. [I also received some tea samples]).

So I gave it an initial brew using my fairly standard sencha brewing technique 1 oz to 1 gram, I went with 80c water (usually go with 70c) first brew was 1 minsecond 00:10third 1 minfourth 1:10fifth 1:20sixth 1:30

so this tea had a real slow burn effect not even opening up all the way until the third infusion, it was strange drinking sencha without the "umami". I liked how the infusions just kept going...

Yet I feel I am missing something, I really need to try a few more things before jumping to any conclusions so I am asking those who have gone there before.

HOW DID YOU GET YOUR BEST RESULTS WITH THIS TEA?

thanks in advance, Blair Sky Whitaker

edit: only have 100 grams of this tea so I can play around with it a little, but no crazy experimenting

I'll have to get back to you on this cause I have just finished my Kaboku sencha this morning, meaning tomorrow I will open up my 100g pack of Tsukigase Zairai.

I only brewed it once or twice myself yet I have drunk plenty before (but I wasn't the one brewing it). For what I gathered, as for good quality teas, this is rather flexible. I have even drunk this very tea "gong fu cha style" in a very small kyusu (around 10cl) using very hot water. The result was really surprising, with no flaws. It strangely made me think of a oolong (gao shan cha).

Usually, my parameters for futsumushi sencha are something like : 5-6g/10 cl, 65°C/1'30, 70°C/30', 80°C/2' and playing around from here. I'll tell you how it goes.

FYI, the article regarding this tea on Hojo's site sums up very well his thoughts about umami, as you sound surprised not to find it in your tea.

I personally like to use about 1 gram to 20ml and I get better brews with hotter water. I use about 85°C 90 sec first infusion to get the leaf to start to open. From there about 10 seconds 2nd brewing adding 5-10 seconds to each additional brew until it fades.

A very durable tea that can tolerate high temperatures and not bite back. It's subtle, rich, deep, smooth, and a sweet purity. I taste minerals of hay, avocado and subtle olive oil

After a few days trying to brew this sencha more like a green tea (gaiwan, etc.), I came back to my kyusu and increased the leaf ratio a bit (7g/10cl). 80°C/1 min, and from there slightly increasing the temp, with flash brews for 2 and 3, and increasing from there. Nice, especially in my Nosaka kyusu.

I am brewing this at a one gram to one ounce ratio and hitting it with 80c-85c water. I am getting better results with slightly longer steeps as well. It's pretty good but I don't know that I would keep this in my regular tea rotation.

I've been drinking the 2011 Kagoshima Zairai from Yuuki-cha and I've also noticed that the tea definitely performs better at higher temperatures. My guess is that it has something to do with the differing amino acid content. Lower temperatures seem to work better with teas that are very rich in amino acids, like Yutaka Midori sencha or even gyokuro. The way the tea is brewed may ultimately depend on how it was grown. Zairai tends not to get the heavy fertilizer treatment to produce a pronounced umami, which is why it tastes so much different... and also seems to last longer.